1. Field
The invention relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to packet data services in a wireless communication system.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are used in many applications including, for example, paging, wireless local loops (WLL), network access, Internet telephony, wireless telephone and satellite communication systems. An exemplary application of network access is accessing a packet data network such as the Internet using a wireless communication device (WCD) such as a cellular telephone.
Standards have been developed to define requirements for wireless packet data network accessing. One such standard is the Interim Standard published by the Telecommunications Industry Association, TIA/IS-835, entitled “cdma2000 Wireless IP Network Standard” herein incorporated in its entirety. Beginning in 2000, different releases of IS-835 have been published, i.e., IS-835, IS-835-A, IS-835-B, and IS-835-C. Currently, the development of IS-835-D is underway. Each release is backward compatible with earlier releases and adds new features. Thus, in a deployed network it is possible that devices with different versions of the standard, and correspondingly different features, may be communicating with each other.
As indicated in the title, the series of IS-835 standards specify the support of packet data services in cdma2000 systems. Specifically, the IS-835 series specify the requirements and optional features for a Mobile Station (MS) to establish Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity with a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) allowing the MS access to packet data services, such as Internet access. As noted, devices with different versions of the IS-835 standard are currently deployed and therefore it is possible that a PDSN and the MSs it serves may be operating with different versions of the standard. In addition, a MS may change from one PDSN to another PDSN that is operating with a different version of the standard than the original PDSN.
Because different features and capabilities may be available to the MSs and the PDSN's that they are communicating with, there may be inefficiency introduced into the communication between the various devices. For example, if a PDSN supports a particular feature that is not available to an MS that it is in communication with, there could be unnecessary signal messages exchanged between the PDSN and the MS if one device attempts to perform an operation that requires a particular feature to be supported by the other device. Thus, system efficiency could be improved with more effective communication of device capability.
There is therefore a need in the art for improving access to a packet data network by devices that support different features and capabilities.